Synthesis of titanium containing MCM-41 and its application for catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose

• Ti-MCM-41s impregnated Fe and Zn is synthesized hydrothermally.
• Physico-chemical characterizations of Ti-MCM-41s confirm the presence of mesopores.
• The new composite materials are preliminarily tested in the hydrolysis of cellulose.
• Maximum sugar and 5-HMF are obtained from hydrolysis with Fe/Ti-MCM-41 catalyst.

Titanium containing MCM-41 is synthesized hydrothermally in the presence of structure-directing agent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Bi- and tri-metal Fe and Zn are impregnated in these materials to improve the acid catalytic sites as well. XRD, BET nitrogen adsorption isotherm, TEM and SEM analysis confirm the presence of mesopores in the composite. The local environment of titanium incorporated into the mesoporous silicate material is investigated by FT-IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy. These results indicate the presence of active centers within the composite material Ti, Fe and Zn. The new composite materials are preliminarily tested in the hydrolysis of cellulose. All the titanium MCM-41 materials improve the conversion of cellulose, providing higher catalytic activity in hydrolysis. There is maximum sugar and 5-HMF concentration resulted from hydrolysis of cellulose with Fe/Ti-MCM-41 catalyst.

The TEM micrographs and other physico-chemical characterizations confirm that the material contain long-range order, one dimensional mesopore structure. Parallel straight pores and hexagonally arrayed pores in TEM micrographs can be ascribed to the (110) directions of hexagonal symmetry phase, which is too weak to recognize in XRD.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide